Getting Oriented

Only 52 mi off Palm Beach, Florida, 96-mi-long Grand Bahama is one of the chain's northernmost islands. Freeport and Lucaya, which more or less melt into one another, are its main cities, comprising the second-largest metropolitan area in the Bahamas. Lucaya sees the most action these days as Freeport struggles to regain ground lost in the hurricanes and financial setbacks of the last decade. The town of West End is a quiet, colorful fishing village that gets lively with a Sunday-night street party. Its upscale Ginn sur Mer resort, golf course, marina, and residential development are the extent of tourism on this end of the island. East of Freeport-Lucaya, small fishing settlements and undeveloped forest stretch for 60 mi.